iWorld
Twitter experiments, doubles its tweet character limit
MUMBAI: Twitter has announced that it is expanding the tweet limit from 140 characters to 280 characters – double the existing limit.
Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said that it was is a small change yet a significant move for the company. Twitter product manager Aliza Rosen and software engineer Ikuhiro Ihara said it was a pain trying to cram one’s thoughts into a tweet – a longer limit would be tried out in the languages impacted by cramming.
The new limits are only available to a “small group” of users, to check out how it works for the initial users before Twitter decides to roll out the changes widely.
Twitter has planned to leave the old 140-character limit in place for tweets in Japanese, Korean and Chinese because the internal data showed written characters in those languages packed plenty into the allotted space.
A Twitter blog post observed that only 0.4 per cent of tweets sent in Japanese use the complete 140-character limit, compared to nine per cent of English tweets.
Twitter, in the last quarter, reported its base of monthly active users (MAUs) was at 328 million. Its growth has not kept pace with the leader Facebook, which has around two billion users, and its sister company Instagram, with 800 million.
iWorld
Snap names Doug Hott CFO as Derek Andersen exits amid restructuring
Leadership shift and layoffs signal sharper focus on costs and growth path
NEW YORK: Snap Inc. is reshuffling its top leadership, appointing Doug Hott as chief financial officer as longtime finance chief Derek Andersen prepares to step down next month.
In an internal note, Snap chief executive officer Evan Spiegel said Andersen will leave after nearly eight years with the company, with his final earnings call set for May 6 and last working day on May 8. Andersen is departing for a new opportunity, closing a chapter that saw him guide the company through the pandemic, major shifts in digital advertising, and broader economic turbulence.
Reflecting on his tenure, Snap chief executive officer Evan Spiegel said Derek Andersen had been “a great partner” who helped steer the business through some of its most challenging periods while keeping a steady focus on long-term growth and profitability.
Taking over is Doug Hott, currently vice president of finance, strategy and corporate development, who has worked closely with leadership on capital allocation and restructuring. Snap chief executive officer Evan Spiegel described Doug Hott as a long-time partner with a strong commitment to cost discipline and doing more with less, signalling continuity at a time when efficiency is front and centre.
The leadership transition comes alongside a broader organisational reset. The workplace experience team will now report to Scott Withycombe, while the content team will move under the product organisation led by Ceci Mourkogiannis. Partnerships executives Anne and Craig will report to Zach Kahn as Snap aims to streamline operations.
The changes follow a recent round of layoffs that saw the company cut around 1,000 roles, or roughly 16 per cent of its workforce, reflecting a wider industry push towards leaner structures and tighter cost controls.
Investors are now turning their attention to Snap’s upcoming quarterly results in early May, which are expected to offer clearer signals on the company’s financial trajectory and the impact of its restructuring efforts.
With a new finance chief in place and a sharper organisational focus, Snap appears to be tightening its belt while keeping an eye on long-term growth in an increasingly competitive digital advertising market.
